Public Health Law Blog Archive

What do you think of when you hear the words “drug overdose”? If you’re like most people, you probably imagine scenes straight out of Traffic or Pulp Fiction: illegal drugs smuggled in from abroad, gritty urban street corners and paraphernalia spread around dirty bathrooms. While injection drug use in urban areas is still a big public health concern in the United States, the general problem of drug overdose has seen a dramatic shift, both in severity and demographics.

Never having watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica, I didn’t understand the funny looks I got when I started talking about a new issue being researched by the Network: fracking. Apparently in BG’s science fiction universe, “frack” is a dirty word. In the real world, fracking is considered a potentially dirty process by many environmental and public health researchers and advocates.

A few weeks ago we posted an overview of Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, a Supreme Court case regarding vaccine manufacturers’ liability for design-defects. At issue was whether state law claims for design defects are preempted under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986. For additional information on the subject, check out the article Bruesewitz v. Wyeth’s Impact on the Vaccine Safety Debate written by the Network's Western Region Deputy Directors Jalayne Arias and Erin Fuse Brown for the American Bar Association.

Most people don’t dispute that we have an obesity problem in this country. Where there is disagreement - in some cases, heated disagreement - is on what to do about it. Food and beverage marketing targeted at kids is one issue that generates a lot of heat. One debate is about whether marketing really is to blame, or whether it’s parents who can’t say “no.”

We know a lot about what works in public health. From the CDC, we know that there are six "winnable battles" that, together, could save thousands of lives. We know that effective policies like smokefree ordinances can protect the public and save lives, and safe communities and affordable fruits and vegetables encourage healthy eating and physical activity. The tough question is: "How do we succeed in doing those things we already know will work?"

April 4-10, 2011 is National Public Health Week. This year’s theme, as designated by the American Public Health Association (APHA), is "Safety is No Accident: Live Injury-Free." I know you have big plans, but please celebrate safely. We’re excited that the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy (JHCIRP) will co-host a kick-off event on April 4^th with APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin and Maryland Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein. As someone who has devoted the majority of his professional career to understanding and preventing injuries, I think about injuries more than most people.